Apple plans to make some spare parts available to consumers

Apple took its first step in conceding to the ‘right to repair’ movement on Wednesday, with the company announcing a programme to make spare parts available from early next year.

The California-based consumer technology giant has long been on the receiving end of criticism from consumer advocates and independent repair technicians for making devices that are harder to repair, and making spare parts inaccessible to those authorised by the company.

Its recent iterations of iPhone products have faced particular criticism for locking customers out of certain functions after parts were replaced with ‘unauthorised’ spare parts by ‘unauthorised’ technicians.

The company said it would launch the programme with parts for the iPhone 12 and 13 models that need repairing the most, such as batteries, cameras and screens, before expanding the programme to include its most recent Mac computer products that use the ‘M1’ chipset.

Apple would not disclose pricing until the programme launches next year, but did claim it would charge individuals the same price it charges ‘authorised’ independent repair providers.

The company was likely getting ahead of looming regulation in the US, after President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to require companies to allow consumers to repair their own devices in July.

Following that, the FTC unanimously condemned manufacturer restrictions on consumer repairs, with chair Lina Khan saying she would “root out” companies with rules that fell foul of American consumer and antitrust laws.

Closer to home, the UK government issued new ‘right to repair’ rules covering white goods and home electronics in July as well, mandating manufacturers to make spare parts available for the first time.

The European Commission also drew up plans for similar rules across the EU this year.